The image of Paratov is not so interesting from the point of view of ordinary people. Yes, of course, he is full of pathos, a lot of feigned prowess. In fact, there is still more elementary selfishness and prudence in him. In the work, he appears as a “brilliant gentleman” who is very passionate and has a generous nature. In fact, Sergei Sergeevich Paratov belongs to that type of gentleman who, under the guise of fatal handsome men, hides the appearance of people who are in constant search of a rich candidate. Contenders whom you can profitably marry.
Larisa, who found attractive features in Paratov, is nothing more than a naive perception of what you want to see. That is, she happily accepts wishful thinking. A. N. Ostrovsky himself would call this elementary posturing, which is designed to bribe naive young ladies. Even girls like Larisa, it turns out, can be useful. It was for such cases that Paratov always had in stock beautiful words and “catchphrases” to impress “beautiful people.” This can be seen in the inconsistency of Paratov’s words and actions. Tell me why a person with a soul that is drawn to the beautiful, cheerful and light, sigh so heavily and talk about benefits that should not be missed under any circumstances. The manner of conversation leaves unforgettable impression, which remains as a result of communication with a person of a noble family. True, the way he coldly informs Larisa that he is engaged and how cynically he uses her for his own purposes exposes him to a mask of duplicity.
Paratov commits all his actions with the goal of ridiculing and humiliating others. He mocks Karandyshev and humiliates Larisa, taking her with him on the ship during a dinner party in honor of her as Karandyshev's bride. As we understand, there is definitely nothing positive in this image. He strangely manages to mix up the plans of some people and change their mood for the future beyond recognition.
In fact, his posturing covers up an absolutely empty person, incapable of any experiences or feelings. On the one hand, he can be understood by people like Knurov and Vozhevatov, who cannot measure life except by cold calculation.
You shouldn’t expect decency from gentlemen like Paratov, since all their lives they have been accustomed to pretending to be nobility, and not showing it. Talk about good deeds, and not commit them. On the other hand, not only simpletons like Larisa fall for his tricks. Do not forget that Paratov is a man in constant search of profit. And he cannot behave differently, otherwise he will look less profitable than others.
Many actions speak louder than his words. He is quite cunning in dealing with people. The most convenient thing about his behavior is that he understands very subtly human soul and can determine what exactly is bothering the interlocutor. During a conversation, he is able to take the side of the originator of the conversation, accepting his rules of the game. He will easily adapt to the mood of his opponent. People like Paratov, as a rule, are put on a pedestal by a woman, no matter whether she is a lover, a loved one, or a victim of these feelings. This is what they come up with ideal images, which have been worshiped for a very long time. This turned out to be Larisa, who created an “idol” for herself. She herself paid for it later. Caught in a well-placed net. One could talk about feelings, but not with people who have their capital thanks to a sober, cold and calculating mind.
Lunin Mikhail Sergeevich
Characteristics of Paratov. How could he captivate Larisa, what did she see in him?
Sergei Sergeich Paratov - one of the main characters of the work
“Dowryless”, he is a brilliant gentleman, one of the shipowners, about thirty years old.
Paratov is a rich man who lives for profit, in other words, his main goal is to make a profit; For this, he sold his barges and is ready to sell anything if it makes sense to him - profit.
“Paratov. What “sorry” is, I don’t know. I, Mokiy Parmenych, have nothing cherished; If I find a profit, I’ll sell everything, anything. And now, gentlemen, I have other matters and other calculations. I’m marrying a very rich girl and taking gold mines as a dowry.”
Paratov first appears to us in the fifth scene of the first act. He is dressed:
“...a black single-breasted tight-fitting frock coat, high patent leather boots, a white cap, over the shoulder travel bag..." In other actions, Paratov also monitors his appearance, always behaves very strictly.
Despite the fact that Sergei Sergeich Paratov is a gentleman, he calmly allows himself to talk on equal terms with the owner of the coffee shop, with his servant, etc. Paratov generous man(when Ivan rushed to sweep Sergei with a broom
Sergeich, he paid him a ruble).
Paratov is a sociable person, with a lordly speech; sometimes he speaks in sayings typical of folk, simple speech.
Personal freedom is very important for Paratov, he has never depended on anyone, but since he gets married, he will have to say goodbye to his former have a fun life and become tied in marriage.
“Paratov. But I won’t get it (happiness) cheaply: I must say goodbye to my freedom, to my cheerful life; so we need to try to have as much fun as possible last days».
Paratov really does not depend on anyone. People are just toys for him, although he behaves quite well with them. However, he is heartless and this is shown in the fact that when he sailed past the island and decided to take with him the person who ended up there, he took him like a toy, did not take both people because he needed an actor who would entertain him on his further journey.
Paratov’s behavior towards Larisa is ambiguous. On the one hand, he decides to visit Larisa, although he should have known that this would bring her suffering, i.e. he doesn't care about her. But on the other hand he admits
Vasily, that he is happy for Larisa, that she is marrying her husband.
Among “his” society, Paratov is a welcome guest. He is well received everywhere. Larisa again confesses her love to him, not understanding him as a person.
The author treats this hero differently. Somewhere he supports him, but somewhere he condemns him.
For Larisa Paratov, this is an idol, the ideal of a real man. Something like
“the handsome prince on a white horse” that everyone dreams of. In fact
Larisa does not love Paratov, but the ideal that she created for herself. She sees only the “mask” that she herself put on him and does not want to look under it in order to understand Paratov, in order to realize his true essence.
How could he captivate Larisa, what did she see in him?
Sergei Sergeich Paratov is one of the main characters of the work “Dowry”, he is a brilliant gentleman, one of the shipowners, about thirty years old.
Paratov is a rich man who lives for profit, in other words, his main goal is to make a profit; For this, he sold his barges and is ready to sell anything if it makes sense to him - profit.
“Paratov. What “sorry” is, I don’t know. I, Mokiy Parmenych, have nothing cherished; If I find a profit, I’ll sell everything, anything. And now, gentlemen, I have other matters and other calculations. I’m marrying a very rich girl and taking gold mines as a dowry.”
Paratov first appears to us in the fifth scene of the first act. He is dressed: “...a tight black single-breasted frock coat, high patent leather boots, a white cap, a travel bag over his shoulder...”. In other actions, Paratov also monitors his appearance and always behaves very strictly.
Despite the fact that Sergei Sergeich Paratov is a gentleman, he calmly allows himself to talk on equal terms with the owner of the coffee shop, with his servant, etc. Paratov is a generous person (when Ivan rushed to sweep Sergei Sergeich with a broom, he paid him a ruble).
Paratov is a sociable person, with a lordly speech; sometimes he speaks in sayings typical of folk, simple speech.
Personal freedom is very important for Paratov, he has never depended on anyone, but since he gets married, he will have to say goodbye to his former cheerful life and become bound by marriage.
“Paratov. But I won’t get it (happiness) cheaply: I must say goodbye to my freedom, to my cheerful life; Therefore, we must try to spend the last days as cheerfully as possible.”
Paratov really does not depend on anyone. People are just toys for him, although he behaves quite well with them. However, he is heartless and this is shown in the fact that when he sailed past the island and decided to take with him the person who ended up there, he took him like a toy, did not take both people because he needed an actor who would entertain him on his further journey.
Paratov’s behavior towards Larisa is ambiguous. On the one hand, he decides to visit Larisa, although he should have known that this would bring her suffering, i.e. he doesn't care about her. But on the other hand, he admits to Vasily that he is happy for Larisa, for the fact that she is marrying her husband.
Among “his” society, Paratov is a welcome guest. He is well received everywhere. Larisa again confesses her love to him, not understanding him as a person.
For Larisa Paratov, this is an idol, the ideal of a real man. Something like the “prince charming on a white horse” that everyone dreams of. In fact, Larisa does not love Paratov, but the ideal that she created for herself. She sees only the “mask” that she herself put on him and does not want to look under it in order to understand Paratov, in order to realize his true essence.
Characteristics of Paratov How could he captivate Larisa, what did she find in him?
Sergei Sergeich Paratov is one of the main characters of the work “Dowry”, he is a brilliant gentleman, one of the shipowners, about thirty years old.
Paratov is a rich man who lives for profit, in other words, his main goal is to make a profit; For this, he sold his barges and is ready to sell anything if it makes sense to him - profit.
“Paratov. What “sorry” is, I don’t know. I, Mokiy Parmenych, have nothing cherished; If I find a profit, I’ll sell everything, anything. And now, gentlemen, I have other matters and other calculations. I’m marrying a very rich girl and taking gold mines as a dowry.”
Paratov first appears to us in the fifth scene of the first act. He is dressed: “...a tight black single-breasted frock coat, high patent leather boots, a white cap, a travel bag over his shoulder...”. In other actions, Paratov also monitors his appearance and always behaves very strictly.
Despite the fact that Sergei Sergeich Paratov is a gentleman, he calmly allows himself to talk on equal terms with the owner of the coffee shop, with his servant, etc. Paratov is a generous person (when Ivan rushed to sweep Sergei Sergeich with a broom, he paid him a ruble).
Paratov is a sociable person, with a lordly speech; sometimes he speaks in sayings typical of folk, simple speech.
Personal freedom is very important for Paratov, he has never depended on anyone, but since he gets married, he will have to say goodbye to his former cheerful life and become bound by marriage.
“Paratov. But I won’t get it (happiness) cheaply: I must say goodbye to my freedom, to my cheerful life; Therefore, we must try to spend the last days as cheerfully as possible.”
Paratov really does not depend on anyone. People are just toys for him, although he behaves quite well with them. However, he is heartless and this is shown in the fact that when he sailed past the island and decided to take with him the person who ended up there, he took him like a toy, did not take both people because he needed an actor who would entertain him on his further journey.
Paratov’s behavior towards Larisa is ambiguous. On the one hand, he decides to visit Larisa, although he should have known that this would bring her suffering, i.e. he doesn't care about her. But on the other hand, he admits to Vasily that he is happy for Larisa, for the fact that she is marrying her husband.
Among “his” society, Paratov is a welcome guest. He is well received everywhere. Larisa again confesses her love to him, not understanding him as a person.
For Larisa Paratov, this is an idol, the ideal of a real man. Something like the “prince charming on a white horse” that everyone dreams of. In fact, Larisa does not love Paratov, but the ideal that she created for herself. She sees only the “mask” that she herself put on him and does not want to look under it in order to understand Paratov, in order to realize his true essence.
Sergei Sergeevich Paratov was prominent handsome man, a favorite of women (“a brilliant gentleman, over thirty years old, one of the ship owners”). Unlike his friends, merchants Knurov and Vozhevatov, Paratov was a real aristocrat and squandered money left and right (he squandered family capital received as an inheritance). Gypsies, a luxury ship, restaurants... - in general, Paratov knew how to “live beautifully.”
At the same time, he, apparently, truly loved ordinary people and, for the sake of entertainment, sometimes shared their hard work with them (like Peter I).
Possessing remarkable physical strength (he attacked a bear with a spear, and also single-handedly moved the stroller with Larisa closer to a dry place), Paratov was a very strong character, an alpha male. This is evidenced by the scene with the officer, to whom Sergei Sergeevich showed what real courage is (a separate one is devoted to this) and the scene with Karandyshev, who disparaged the barge haulers (being angry with the poor official, Paratov took revenge on him by getting him drunk with the help of Robinson).
Naturally, Larisa fell in love with a rich, strong gentleman who knows how to charm a woman. Paratov had no moral principles and did what he wanted (I, Mokiy Parmenych, have nothing treasured; if I find a profit, I’ll sell everything, whatever). Therefore, he took advantage of Larisa twice, luring her onto the ship (without intending to marry her).
By and large, Paratov is an empty person. Of course, he knew how to waste money and show off, but he had no real core and nobility of soul.
Role in the plot of the play
Paratov, being frequent guest in the Ogudalovs' house, became the object of Larisa Ogudalova's adoration. He scared away all the suitors and spent the night with her on his ship. After this, Paratov went to his estate to solve problems with the manager. It is clear that living in such a spirit, it is difficult to remain rich. Paratov went broke, but immediately found a way out, using his last name and external data. He married a girl with a rich dowry.
Having sold his ship to Vozhevatov, Paratov again came to the city where the Ogudalovs lived. He came to visit them and again disturbed the heart of Larisa, who was going to marry Karandyshev. Having quarreled with the latter, he, with the help of his jester Robinson, got him drunk and took Larisa onto the ship (to mark its sale). After spending the night with her, Sergei Sergeevich told her that he did not need her... As a result, the desperate Larisa was shot by the jealous Karandyshev.
Quotes from Paratov
- I want to know how soon a woman forgets her passionately loved one: the day after separation from him, a week or a month...
- I will always think of you with respect; but women in general, after your action, lose a lot in my eyes.
- But jealous people are jealous for no reason.
- Look, I will shoot the girl who is dearer to me than anything in the world, and I will not turn pale
- Everyone has their own taste: one person loves watermelon, and another loves pork cartilage.
- And now, gentlemen, I have other matters and other calculations. I am marrying a very rich girl and taking gold mines as a dowry.
- I'll just teach him. I have a rule: don’t forgive anyone anything; otherwise they will forget fear, they will begin to forget.
- If I want to teach someone, I lock myself at home for a week and invent an execution.
- I'm engaged. - Ah! - These are the golden chains with which I am bound for life.
- Very simple; because if a man cries, they will call him a woman; and this nickname for a man is worse than anything that the human mind can invent.